An Author at 91: Colin Wilkinson Writes International Intrigue

At 91, Colin Wilkinson is a published author. For his novel, “The Taste of Evil,” the elegant British-born Grosse Pointer pulled from his own life experiences – as an officer in the British Royal Marines during WWII, a child playing in an ancient castle in the North of England, and a young man traveling the world to meet and marry a beautiful Canadian. Mr. Wilkinson turned to writing several years ago when emphysema made it difficult to partake in his favorite activities of hiking and golfing. If he couldn’t exercise his body as he once did, he reasoned, he would continue to exercise his mind. And exercise he did. The book’s jacket says it all: “Chris, a former Marine Colonel, Lisa an active CIA agent, find themselves investigating a Colombian drug cartel, a Chinese Tong and an ambitious American politician.” “I always had a yen to write,” Mr. Wilkinson says. “I was encouraged by my eldest daughter to write the stories I used to tell her about growing up in England.”
What started out as a memoir, quickly became this fast-paced novel of international intrigue, romance and plenty of action.
“I had a notion for a story in my mind. After a few chapters, I thought, I know what I’m talking about but does anyone else?” That’s when he met Linda Moore, a publisher/editor, who guided Mr. Wilkinson through the process and helped him get his book published. After WWII, Mr. Wilkinson left England with a business degree and headed to Canada. “I intended to be away for one to two years and go back to work in my father’s business,” he says. “then I met a young woman in London, Ontario.” Dorothy and Colin were married for 25 years and had three daughters (Anne, Victoria and Pamela).

Dorothy died in 1983. The family eventually moved from Windsor to Grosse Pointe Park where the girls grew up. During his career,
Mr. Wilkinson was a marketing executive at
Blue Cross and the president of a Blue Cross subsidiary, Blue Ribbon Inc.
Some years after Dorothy’s death, he married Jacqueline and the two split their time between Florida and Michigan where they enjoy their big family. Between them, they have five children, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

[Editor’s Note: Anne Marie Gattari is host of “Aging Well in America” on GPWM TV, a member of the Grosse Pointe Woods Senior Commission and owner of BrightStar Care of Grosse Pointe]